Riot Women on BBC One: Writer Sally Wainwright returns to 'gorgeous' Happy Valley filming locations for new drama
'It just looks gorgeous on camera'
Riot Women is the bold new BBC One drama from Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright and, once again, she puts her home country firmly in the spotlight – read on to find out more about the show’s filming locations.
The six-parter is centred around five menopausal women. They decide to form a punk rock band after becoming “invisible”. But Sally Wainwright will never sideline women of a “certain age” in her dramas. Nope, in fact they are always the spine, blood and guts of the show.
Just refer back to the character of Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley. Damn we still miss her on our screens.
In Riot Women, the cast and crew visited many of the filming locations featured in previous Sally Wainwright dramas. Here’s everything you need to know.
What filming locations were used in Riot Women?
Riot Women introduces a teacher, a police officer, a pub landlady, a midwife, and a shoplifting freeloader. They all come together in their home town of Hebden.
But where did cast and crew actually film the BBC One drama? Well, cast and crew filmed the series in West Yorkshire. And that’s where it’s set, too – which probably won’t surprise Sally Wainwright fans.
Sally Wainwright – an OBE no less – was born in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire. So it’s understandable why she returns to her roots to film.
Happy Valley was set in the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire. The brilliant crime drama particularly focused on the towns and surrounding areas of Halifax and Hebden Bridge. The series’ writer and creator grew up in the region.
Of course, Sally’s fans will also know her for TV series Last Tango in Halifax (filmed in Halifax), and Gentleman Jack, also filmed in and around Yorkshire.
‘It just looks gorgeous on camera’
Talking about filming there again, Sally told us: “Riot Women is a story that could really be set anywhere to be honest. But I do like writing in my own vernacular. I think I can get more comedy out of the language if I’m writing in my own dialect. And you can’t beat the landscape in Hebden Bridge.”
She added: “Riot Women is even more Hebden-centric than Happy Valley was, as we filmed a lot around there for this series. It just looks gorgeous on camera. And you get a great sense of place which I think is important in a TV show in order to feel like you really know where you are when you turn it on.
“It has a very particular atmosphere, and I think you achieve that by being in a specific part of the world.”
Is Hebden Bridge a real place?
It’s a historic market town in the Calderdale district of West Yorkshire. eight miles west of Halifax and 14 miles north-east of Rochdale. The town is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Hebden Royd.
Hebden Bridge is famous for its history of radical politics and alternative lifestyles. Visitors have dubbed it the “lesbian capital of the UK” for its inclusive and LGBTQ+ friendly community. A perfect filming location for Riot Women then!
The town is also celebrated for its thriving arts and culture scene, unique independent shops, and its distinctive architecture, such as the “double-decker” streets built into the hillside.
Riot Women filming locations: Hebden Bridge is ‘idyllic’
BBC One series Riot Women was primarily set and filmed in Hebden Bridge, which actress Lorraine Ashbourne described as “idyllic”.
Manchester-born Lorraine said: “I fell in love with Hebden Bridge. It’s idyllic. And Sally choosing to set her story in this beautiful, thriving little corner of the world where all this drama plays out, is very clever.
“Riot Women looks at the importance of companionship and the joy of friendship. It’s about being given a second chance and fulfilling dreams. It’s a unique angle on female empowerment, and a celebration!”
Read more: Peaky Blinders: Two new series announced as gritty drama returns with a ‘new chapter and era’
